D23 EXPO- To Infinity and Beyond: Disney Interactive Takes the Stage

I was able to make it to the panel To Infinity and Beyond at the D23 Expo today, and it was awesome! A lot of announcements were packed into an hour and a half but I will run down the more important things.

Fantasia Music Evolved:

First we were shown a video of the new music game by Harmonix and Disney Interactive titled Fantasia Music Evolved which is a motion game for Xbox Kinect. To be honest I was not impressed with this game at E3, but after seeing a live demo today and all the features I might want to give this game another chance.

Chris Nichols (Disney Interactive) and John Drake (Harmonix) presented us with an underwater level you could play called The Shoal, the entire environment responed to slight hand movements it seemed to respond very well. Next they had a demonstration of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (not a cover band). There is a lot of room to improvise and remix songs more to your style, choosing which instruments are used whether it be drums, bass, or even a more classical style.

They also demonstrated some of the “Night on Bald Mountain” game play and showed some behind the scenes video on how the game’s classic music was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra. After that We were greeted by Sorcerer Mickey who brought out the Disney Chamber Ensemble for a live performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Spring). It was fantastic!

Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story:

Next we were shown the first 7 minutes of the new online original series coming from Disney. Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story. It will be a 12-episode series, which is shot completely with stop motion. I was really impressed with how it looked and look forward to checking out this series.

Here is a teaser trailer for the upcoming series.

It’s a Small World:

Next they talked briefly about the upcoming animated series It’s a Small World, based off Disneyland’s infamous ride. The series follows a magical hot-air balloon as it befriends kids from all over the world to embark on an unforgettable adventure. The best news about this new series is that the theme song was written by Disney Legend Richard Sherman (Mary Poppins).

Disney Animated App:

Next we were shown some of the awesome features by Theodore Gray (the founder of Touch Press, the app developer) that you can use with the new Disney Animated App which is available now. I don’t have a smart tablet or phone so I can’t use the app but if your a Disney fan you will want to check it out. They have animated clips, a list of all the Disney films in chronological order of release and inside information. The app has a tool where you can actually take full character models which were actually used in the films and can animate them any way you want. There is also a color map of all Disney’s animated films which you can scroll through one by one or all together and see the different colors that are used in movies or in scenes. Theodore talked about how you can see in the end of lion king a lot of red because of the fire and battle then a bright happy color then credits. Here is a picture of the Color Map:

Here is a trailer for the Disney Animated App also:

Disney Infinity:

Next up was Disney Infinity the reason most of us were at the panel today. John Blackburn (Avalanche Studios) and John Vignocchi (Disney Interactive) came out and made some huge announcements concerning the game. First they shared a bit of the game’s back story, and a few of the video packages for the already announced toys. They also highlighted some cool features in the toy box and actually created their own version of Disneyland (which looked amazing) complete with fireworks, which will be available to download for your own toy box when the game launches next week.

The John’s touched briefly on how you will be able to use Disney Infinity with your mobile phone and for your smart tablet. Showing how you can animate some characters such as Jack Sparrow shooting a cannon at one of your friends while recording them with your phone. They also said that with a smart tablet you will be able to access your entire toy box and pick up where you left off, The smart tablet version of the game is supposed to be just as detailed and fully usable as the console release.

Alright now for the big announcements.

Toy Story Play-set is coming to Disney Infinity! Woody, Buzz and Jesse, in the video they showed I did notice Bulls-eye and Emperor Zerg too. After the panel I did get to talk with Matt Solie associate producer at Disney Interactive. Where I was told that Bulls-eye will be a unlockable character in the game and that the toy story play-set, is all about trying to help the aliens from the claw machine create a new world on a new planet all while fighting emperor Zerg. The toy story play-set is set to be released this October!

They also announced a few new characters that will be coming to Disney Infinity.

No release date except sometime in 2014 was announced for these figures.

Then it was time for the final big announcement.

Sorcerers Apprentice Mickey will be available for Disney Infinity this January!

However if you were lucky enough to be at the panel today everyone in the audience got a Sorcerers Apprentice Mickey for Free! I did talk to one of the associate producers at Disney Interactive Matt Solie, after the panel and he did mention that Sorcerer Mickey will be the most powerful character in the game, and that they designed him to be that way. Also if you go to the first picture I posted below the Disney Infinity headline, you may notice a few characters not announced such as Mr Gibbs, and Matt did say that they will release more figures for already announced sets coming sometime next year.

Here is a shot of all the new figures announced today.

I had a great time at the D23 Expo and I’m so glad I made it to the Infinity and Beyond Panel, it was definitely worth the long wait in line.

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